Those big stability balls at the gym look fun, but they can deliver a serious workout

Sunday

Jan 27, 2008 at 12:01 AM

STEPHANIE DeMELLO

You’ve probably seen them used for abdominal exercises, in place of a weight bench or as a stretching aid. If you’re a fan of NBC’s “The Office,” you might recall the episode where Dwight used one as a chair — a short-lived experiment, thanks to a strategically placed pair of scissors.

Stability balls, those big, colorful plastic balls that look like they belong on a playground rather than a weight room, have become an exercise staple.

Also known as Swiss balls, stability balls are made of thick plastic and come in three sizes — small, medium and large. Their primary purpose is to add a stability challenge to standard crunches or back extensions.

“By doing that, we’re targeting not the six-pack abs, but the core muscles underneath the six-pack abs,” said John Garlow, fitness supervisor at Wilson’s Total Fitness.

The body’s core muscles help hold the body up.

“As we target the core muscles, we become stronger and are less prone to aches and pains associated with continued sitting or standing or repetitive type motions,” Garlow said. “The stronger we are in the center, the better our ability to undertake our daily tasks without any pain or with an improved sense of function.”

Along with strengthening your core, a stability ball is good for your back.

“The biggest part of them is, they stretch at the same time you’re doing exercise, plus they provide a really soft cushion for your back at the same time,” local chiropractor Mark Pressley said.

“Most all of us do way too much forward flexion. We’re on computers. We’re bending forward for everything,” he added. “While you’re on one of those, you’re in full extension, and it really stretches the front part of the spine quite a bit.”

Using a stability ball is “great for the spine” in that it is “a method of slow, gradual traction for the back,” said Pressley, who uses a ball every night for light core strengthening and stretching.

Most brands of stability balls sold will include a list of exercises to try, but Pressley said just lying on it helps. “You can basically lie on it still and stretch,” he said. “You don’t have to buy an expensive piece of equipment to stretch.”

Buying a stability ball

Most brands of stability balls are fairly similar, Garlow said.

“Some will be a little thinner than others, some with be a little thicker,” he said. “But in the grand scheme of things,it’s really not that large of a difference.”

On the box, there should be a recommendation for size, usually according to height. “If you could separate your height into small, medium or large, that’s the ball you want to go after,” Garlow said.

“For people who are more advanced, a ball that’s meant for your height might be a little too easy for certain exercises, so you’d size down a ball. That’s the beauty of having a gym where there are many different sizes.”

Garlow and Pressley recommended contacting your physician before using a ball, especially if you have frequent back pain.

Pressley said he has seen a 90-year-old use a stability ball, so “they’re a great thing for any age.”

This article was published in the Sunday, January 27, 2008 edition of the Columbia Daily Tribune with the headline "Ball bearings: Those big stability balls at the gym look fun, but they can deliver a serious workout."